Thrillers & Suspense
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Black Ice: A Thriller (20) (The Scot Harvath Series)
"Black Ice is another instant classic from Brad Thor, who continues to push the envelope in ways that few before him have ever dared." -The Real Book Spy
The new Cold War is about to go hot.
#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor is back with his most intense thriller yet.
Scot Harvath is having his best summer ever. With a cottage on the fjord, a boat, and his beautiful girlfriend Sølvi, he's got everything he could possibly want. But out of vacation days and long overdue back home, America's top spy has a decision to make-return, or submit his resignation.
When his deadly past comes calling, though, he'll be left with no choice at all.
Leaving his favorite Oslo café, Harvath watches as a ghost climbs out of a taxi-a man he killed years ago, halfway around the world. How is he still alive? And what is he doing in Norway?
In a race against time that will take him high above the Arctic Circle, Harvath is tested in ways he has never imagined and pushed to a limit few human beings could ever endure.
If he succeeds, he'll walk away with everything. If he fails, the United States and its allies will be at the mercy of one of the world's most dangerous actors.
The new Cold War is about to go hot.
#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor is back with his most intense thriller yet.
Scot Harvath is having his best summer ever. With a cottage on the fjord, a boat, and his beautiful girlfriend Sølvi, he's got everything he could possibly want. But out of vacation days and long overdue back home, America's top spy has a decision to make-return, or submit his resignation.
When his deadly past comes calling, though, he'll be left with no choice at all.
Leaving his favorite Oslo café, Harvath watches as a ghost climbs out of a taxi-a man he killed years ago, halfway around the world. How is he still alive? And what is he doing in Norway?
In a race against time that will take him high above the Arctic Circle, Harvath is tested in ways he has never imagined and pushed to a limit few human beings could ever endure.
If he succeeds, he'll walk away with everything. If he fails, the United States and its allies will be at the mercy of one of the world's most dangerous actors.
Editorial Reviews
"A new thriller from Brad Thor has become as much a part of summer as Popsicles and fireflies -- and Thor's astonishing Black Ice does not disappoint. This is the kind of novel that you pick up . . . and before you know it, you've read 90 pages and don't want to put it down."-- "National Review"
Readers Top Reviews
scott edwardsgreg
This is yet again another brilliant adventure from this author. My only problem is waiting for the next one. 😍
Robert Downiescot
A fast paced, page turner, right up to the final page, it is relentless. Absolutely loved every heart pounding minute of it.
Yer Man Northern
I have read all of this author's books and not one has disappointed. This is one time I kept telling myself I would stop at the next chapter and continue reading another day. Impossible to put down, a great story, well written and one author whose name is synonymous with a great read.
John K. LenonYer
Having read all the Harvath novels, I might be biased. But? This is a great read. I've read some folks say things like Brad writes too slow, or the story is not quick enough. You can't jump to the end or write 30 chapters when 68 are required. Plus he clearly had to do lots of research on locales, national defense, politics, espionage, weapons, weather, countries, etc. It takes a while. There are Chinese and Russians and Norwegians, and Polar Bears, etc. Quit whining. Brad knows what he is doing. If you are reading this first book, that's ok. It's better to read all 20. Starting with the first one from 2003. Which means he is writing more than one a year as some other folks have mentioned. Anyway, great story, great characters and Harvath is once again kicking butt and taking names. Highly recommend.
Jan D.Pianogirl62
Black Ice feels like being thrown backwards in time when the Cold War was background for many if not most of the spy thrillers. It is all about communists being very bad and white nationalist Americans are all good and patriotic. The cliches in this book never end and the (white nationalist) Americans, the Russians and the Chinese are 100% generic. Male female relations are pathetic and the action scenes we all have read in some version a thousand times. Most important that despite having published many books before, the writing is at best high school quality.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Prologue PROLOGUE
78°55'30"N 11°55'20"E
ARCTIC OCEAN
SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO
Helicopters, it was said, didn't fly-they merely beat the air into submission. But halfway between continental Norway and the North Pole, it felt as if the air were winning.
As sleet slammed against the exterior, another sixty-plus-mile-per-hour gust rocked the airframe. The rotors groaned in protest. There was only so much the helo could handle. They were pushing it beyond its limits.
Scot Harvath didn't need to see the water to know the slate-gray ocean was roiling with whitecaps. This far above the Arctic Circle, where moisture from the south collided with icy polar winds, massive depressions formed, unleashing nightmare weather.
If anything went wrong, there would be no rescue. No one back at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, much less anyone at the White House, would acknowledge him, or the mission he was on.
He glanced at the cracked face of his watch, blood crusted atop its bezel. Just a little farther, he thought to himself. We're almost there.
Ignoring the pain in his ribs, he reached for his pack and opened it. Everything was still in place. Take care of your gear and your gear will take care of you. It was a mantra that had saved his life again and again.
Under his mountaineering jacket, he felt the cold press of metal against his skin. No one knew if the odd-shaped key, hanging from a piece of paracord, would even work-not after all this time.
If it didn't, all of the danger, all of the risk, would be for nothing, and the consequences would be deadly. Failure, however, wasn't an option.
That was the world he lived in. He wasn't interested in easy tasks. In fact, he had always chosen the most difficult, the most perilous assignments.
It was how he was wired. No matter how bleak the scenario, he would never give up. Success was the only outcome he would entertain.
But as yet another gale-force blast of frigid air convulsed the helicopter, causing it to swing violently from side to side, he began to have his doubts.
Moments later, an alarm began shrieking from the cockpit, and Harvath knew they were in trouble.
The pilots, though, were able to regain control. The bird was still swaying, but nowhere near as badly as before. It looked like everything was going to be okay.
Then there was an earsplitting crack. It sounded as if the helo had been hit by lightning. It was followed by the tail rotor completely shearing off. And as it did, the helicopter began to spiral.
They were going down.
78°55'30"N 11°55'20"E
ARCTIC OCEAN
SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO
Helicopters, it was said, didn't fly-they merely beat the air into submission. But halfway between continental Norway and the North Pole, it felt as if the air were winning.
As sleet slammed against the exterior, another sixty-plus-mile-per-hour gust rocked the airframe. The rotors groaned in protest. There was only so much the helo could handle. They were pushing it beyond its limits.
Scot Harvath didn't need to see the water to know the slate-gray ocean was roiling with whitecaps. This far above the Arctic Circle, where moisture from the south collided with icy polar winds, massive depressions formed, unleashing nightmare weather.
If anything went wrong, there would be no rescue. No one back at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, much less anyone at the White House, would acknowledge him, or the mission he was on.
He glanced at the cracked face of his watch, blood crusted atop its bezel. Just a little farther, he thought to himself. We're almost there.
Ignoring the pain in his ribs, he reached for his pack and opened it. Everything was still in place. Take care of your gear and your gear will take care of you. It was a mantra that had saved his life again and again.
Under his mountaineering jacket, he felt the cold press of metal against his skin. No one knew if the odd-shaped key, hanging from a piece of paracord, would even work-not after all this time.
If it didn't, all of the danger, all of the risk, would be for nothing, and the consequences would be deadly. Failure, however, wasn't an option.
That was the world he lived in. He wasn't interested in easy tasks. In fact, he had always chosen the most difficult, the most perilous assignments.
It was how he was wired. No matter how bleak the scenario, he would never give up. Success was the only outcome he would entertain.
But as yet another gale-force blast of frigid air convulsed the helicopter, causing it to swing violently from side to side, he began to have his doubts.
Moments later, an alarm began shrieking from the cockpit, and Harvath knew they were in trouble.
The pilots, though, were able to regain control. The bird was still swaying, but nowhere near as badly as before. It looked like everything was going to be okay.
Then there was an earsplitting crack. It sounded as if the helo had been hit by lightning. It was followed by the tail rotor completely shearing off. And as it did, the helicopter began to spiral.
They were going down.
